


Within Darkness

by tanchimo



Category: Groove Adventure RAVE | Rave Master
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Sad with a Happy Ending, this one's gonna be rough
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29089308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tanchimo/pseuds/tanchimo
Summary: After the release of Endless, Elie awakens to find herself captured by Lucia with little hope of escape. However, the longer she remains captive, the more reality seems to bend.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	1. Cold Awakenings

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is another fic that I have decided to completely revamp and rewrite, hence the title change. It IS going to be quite dark, so please pay attention to the tags / warnings.

Something, Elie thought, had gone horribly wrong.

She was certain that her eyes were open, but everything around was black - save for a single beam of dim light in the corner of the room. When she tried to move, however, it became quickly apparent that that would be out of the question entirely. Her arms were locked in place above her head, elbows bent at an uncomfortable angle, while her ankles were numb beneath her. Shifting brought the sound of metal scraping against stone.

Elie tried to remember what happened, or how she could have possibly gone from the Cavern of Star Vestige to whatever this dark room was. “H-Haru?!” she cried, voice weak. “Musica!” The words reverberated around the room.

Nothing.

Panic began rising in her throat like bile, and she struggled slightly against the shackles as she tried to stand up. “Griff! Plue! Haru!” With each name, her voice grew a little more desperate, accentuated with the clang of metal as she fought against it. “Haru!”

Finally, she heard a dull thud somewhere in the distance. Elie froze, breathing still coming in heavy pants. She strained to hear more, only picking up the slight click of boots against stone growing louder. “H-hello?!” she cried, back arching as she pulled on the shackles. “Someone, please!” Elie was not necessarily a stranger to finding herself in bad situations, but this felt different. This all felt _wrong_ , somehow.

The person approaching stopped, and she saw a shadow appear where once there had been light. Her only warning was a soft _click_ before the door was flung open, bringing along a blinding light. Elie recoiled away from it, feeling her eyes burn at the sensation. More footsteps, and then the door was shut again, leaving only fireworks in her vision. “Wh-who -?” she started to say, but a gloved hand grabbed her cheek.

“Hello, child of Etherion.”

Chills went down her back, and Elie jerked her head free of Lucia’s grip, still struggling to see properly. “What did you do to my friends?!” she demanded instead, squinting up at him. His figure looked less bulky than she remembered seeing, but he still towered over her menacingly, silhouette just as intimidating as ever. “Where are they?!”

“I assure you, I don’t know,” Lucia laughed. “Nor do I care. I have what I want now.”

A single heartbeat was all it took for Elie to realize what he meant. He had _her_. Somehow, he had managed to snatch her away from the others and bring her to this horrible place.

Lucia laughed, and she bit down on her bottom lip to keep it from quivering. “I assume they’re recovering, but I didn’t stay to watch once you were secured in my chariot,” he added, stepping closer. Elie pressed herself against the wall, but it was useless. “Now, I have a question for you, Elie. What do you know about Endless?”

He had leaned in close enough that she could make out the shape of his scar beneath his eye, and Elie had to resist the urge to spit in his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said instead. A hard darted out from the dark, once more grabbing her cheeks to keep her face steady.

“You called him the ‘King of Stellar Memories.’ Tell me what that means.”

All she could do was glare at him, cheeks pressed together enough that she wouldn’t be able to form a coherent string of words. “I don’t know,” she managed when it became apparent that he would wait for an answer regardless. Elie watched as his eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint taking over what had been mild amusement.

“Lies.”

The hand on her jaw disappeared and was replaced quickly with a jab to her stomach. Elie guffawed and fell forward, clenching her teeth in pain. “Tell me the truth!” he snapped, grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking her head up. “You are the one who named him! _Tell me what you know!_ ” He reared his arm back again, and for a second, she was certain she saw the shimmer of a blade in the darkness.

“I don’t know anything!” Elie cried frantically, shaking her head. “I - I don’t remember anything after that weird light!” The distinct whistle of a blade through air only lasted a second before Elie felt her side erupt in pain. She cried out, warm blood coating her side. “I’m telling the truth!” she tried, voice broken by ragged breathing and frantic sobs. Lucia’s hand gripped her jaw again, jerking her head towards him a little.

He held her like that for what felt like an entire lifetime, yellow eyes glinting between hers as he searched for some sort of proof that she was being honest. Hot tears burned down her cheeks while she stared back, trying her best to muster up a glare. When he finally released her, Elie slumped down a little in her binds, elbows straining under the strange new position. “Very well,” Lucia said, stepping away. “I was hoping you would be more agreeable given your circumstances, but I can find my answers elsewhere.” Elie managed to lift her head, feeling a bit light headed after everything. “I suggest you make yourself comfortable, as you might be here for quite a while. Until, of course, you can learn to respect me for the King that I am.” He paused, and then she heard a soft chuckle. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to remember to come down and visit occasionally.”

Elie watched as light burst into the room once more, door slamming shut behind him. For a few seconds, she couldn’t look away from it, eyes building in her eyes. He was just going to leave her down here? With her side slashed open?

She managed to maneuver around a bit, angling her body a bit to get a better view of her side. The cut wasn’t particularly deep from what she could see, but it would be awkward trying to heal if she wasn’t able to sit down. Judging by the length of the chains holding her arms up, Elie guessed that sitting down was probably not much of an option.

More bile threatened to rise in her throat - Lucia had left her down here in the dark, with an injury, knowing that she would have no choice but to dangle by her wrists when she wanted to rest.

“H-Haru,” she gasped, not bothering to stop the tears as they fell freely once more. Her captor hadn’t given her much information about her friends, though she had to assume Haru was alive if Lucia was worried he would cause trouble for him. There was no doubt in her mind that Haru and the others would come for her. She would just need to be patient. But as she sobbed and felt pricks of pain up and down her side from the movements, Elie wasn’t sure if she would be able to hold out long enough for them to find her.

Did they have any idea where Lucia _was_? King had destroyed the original Demon Card castle, that much she remembered, so where was Lucia’s base? Had he built a new one? Taken one over? Elie had no idea, and she couldn’t be sure the others would find any better clues.

For now, she would simply have to hold onto the faith that Haru would not leave her here. He’d come for her as soon as he could, and he would rescue her. Elie was certain of that. It was Haru, he always found a way to find her. In the meantime, she would do her best to stay strong and not let their greatest enemy shatter her spirit. Whatever it was he needed Etherion for would be useless if she was too weak to properly control it - assuming her first attempt didn’t break apart the timestream or something outrageous.

There must be more to his plan, Elie realized. He must realize that if she got truly desperate, she could theoretically fight her way out of here. He had not fixed any sort of magic breaker to her as far as she could tell - did he think she wouldn’t use it out of fear? A safe bet, certainly, but Elie had been reading up on magic use. She did her breathing exercises before bed and immediately after waking up, she had learned to meditate and _feel_ Etherion within her. Sure, she hadn’t really attempted to use it herself beyond a few accidents while they helped Celia, but that didn’t mean she _couldn’t_ use it.

If she was careful, she could break herself out of here before Haru and the others had the chance to save her. Give Lucia a reason to drop his smug little smirks next time he came down to torture her.

A shiver went down her back, and Elie forced herself to take a slow breath. He wasn’t going to kill her. Whatever his plan was, he needed Etherion, which meant he also needed her alive and capable of using it.

His arrogance would be his downfall.

Elie wasn’t sure how much time she spent meditating, trying to block out the throbbing of her wrists or the stinging pain in her side. It was difficult to relax enough, but with a plethora of steady breaths, she was able to lull herself into something resembling _calm_. It wasn’t much, Elie knew that, but at least it would keep her head clear to formulate a plan. Once she was feeling a little stronger, she could try playing around with tiny amounts of Etherion, see if she could at least break the chain keeping her arms up.

It felt good, having a plan in place. It wasn’t a great plan, of course, but it was something. She’d certainly had worse plans that worked out well enough. Elie closed her eyes again, letting her thoughts drift to her friends.

Were they alright? How much time had passed since Lucia stole her away? She had so many questions, and no one around to ask. Lucia didn’t seem likely to answer anything, and Elie doubted that he’d be letting the guards speak much to her when they came down to deliver food. If they came down to deliver food. Elie felt her stomach rumble a little at the thought, hanging her head.

Wouldn’t that be just her luck, Lucia keeping her in a state of starvation to keep her too weak to fight back?

Elie lifted her head again, leaning back until it rested on the stone behind her. There was no point worrying about that, she told herself. Food or no food, she would need to stay strong and keep herself focused on controlling Etherion. If Lucia caught onto what she was doing before she could properly escape, there was nothing stopping him from using the Decalogue version of Rune Save to seal her magic behind another seal like Haru had. Or worse, depending on how far along in the escape plan she was. Another shiver went down her back, and Elie sighed.

This would be difficult. But Haru had taught her the importance of not giving up. He was waiting for her now, and there was no way she was going to just hang around and let Lucia use her as his own private punching bag.

She just needed to stay strong, Elie told herself. She repeated it again and again, trying to will it into existence through repetition. It wasn’t much, but it was enough of a thread to cling to in the dark.


	2. Into the Light

Without a real source of light, Elie had no idea how much time was passing. She guessed that food was sent down at least once a day, but none of the guards who delivered it would answer any question, or speak to her at all. They would simply stand in front of her with an annoyed look while she awkwardly took bites and tried not to dribble more water down her chin than she drank. It was frustrating at best and humiliating at worst, but they were over quickly, which allowed a certain level of solitude for her to test her binds without too much suspicion.

She found that the wrist shackles were just long enough for her lean forward about twelve inches before it stopped short, while the ones around her ankle provided more mobility. Not enough for her to effectively kick someone, of course, but it was something. Lucia hadn’t come back to visit her since, and Elie was glad for it. Things were difficult enough as it was, and she didn’t want him coming down to taunt her anymore.

Plus, it gave her time to think. She could _feel_ Etherion as it swirled within her, knew that it was there and waiting for her to risk using it. She just needed to focus, to keep herself calm for long enough to avoid accidentally taking down the whole castle. Which wouldn’t be the worst thing, but Elie assumed that it would make her escape substantially more difficult in the long run.

When she wasn’t being fed stale bread or meditating, Elie slept. She quickly came to the conclusion that Lucia hadn’t bothered snatching away any of her other friends, so there was no point in trying to scream out for them. And since no one would speak to her, there wasn’t anything else to do. Without Lucia coming down to interrogate her for more information on Endless, whatever that was, her whole situation actually felt quite boring.

However, that all came to a screeching halt soon enough.

Just as Elie was once more dozing off, head resting against her long-since numb arm, the sound of heavy boots filled the air. She lifted her head up a little, eyes squinting at the door. By now, she had learned to avoid looking directly at it when it opened, but she still watched to see if the person was coming to see her. A shadow took the place of the weak light, and Elie quickly clenched her eyes shut just as the door swung open. She waited until it slammed shut behind her to open her eyes, trying to make out the silhouette as a guard or - “Hello again, Elie,” Lucia said.

His voice sent a shiver down her back, and she glared in his direction. “I told you, I don’t know anything about this Endless thing,” she told him. He chuckled softly, the noise reverberating around the cold walls along. “What do you want?”

In three footsteps, he was before her again, leaning down a little to meet her eyes. With her eyes more adjusted to the dark, she could make out the shape of his face, could even see the tip of his eyebrow scar and the shape of his Dark Bring resting against his chest, a purple flicker in the expanse before her. “Must I need a reason?” he taunted. “Can’t I simply enjoy a visit to my favorite prisoner?”

Elie made a face. “The last time you were here, you attacked me,” she reminded him. “And you’ve kept me locked up for, like, a week now.”

He laughed again. “I suppose you aren’t wrong.” Lucia leaned away, arms resting behind his back. “I came to see if your time in my dungeon has taught you enough respect to rejoin the world above.” Despite herself, Elie felt her heart swell at the thought of being freed from this wretched dungeon. “A week without bathing, must be difficult for you,” he added. Elie crinkled her nose, and he laughed again. “I spent ten years in the darkness, and you can hardly stand a week!”

“If all you’re going to do is make fun of me, I’d rather stay down here!” Elie snapped. _That_ stopped his laughing, and Lucia stepped forward again. Just as she tried to lean back, his hand darted forward, thumb and forefinger pressing against the sides of her throat.

“Perhaps I extended the offer of freedom too early?” he said softly, head tilting as he watched her gasp for air. “It seems you’ve learned nothing yet. Pity.” He released her, moving his hand enough for her head to fall as she gasped for air. He watched her for a second before his hand carefully stroked the side of her cheek. “Aren’t you tired of always playing the damsel in distress? Of being a slave to the machinations of everyone else around you?”

Elie lifted her head up, face still flushed and breaths coming in rough gasps. “You don’t know anything about me,” she croaked. She heard him shifting slightly, body angling towards hers in a way that was anything but inviting.

“I know more about you than you realize,” he whispered. “I know that you fear the power within you, that you can’t yet control it. I can teach you. I can help you become strong.” Elie felt a shiver go down her back again, mustering up her best glare. Lucia remained right where he was, eyes flickering across her face for a few seconds. Finally, he sighed and straightened up. “How disappointing.”

And then he was turning to leave, and Elie felt her heart sinking. The idea of staying down here alone, of not knowing anything about her friends or the world around her, was more terrifying than anything. The door was pulled open, light spilling into the dank cell immediately, reflecting off the Dark Bring he wore in glimmers of purple light.

“Wait.”

Lucia paused in the doorway, turning back to her. With the light behind him, she could not make out his expression, though she was certain he would no doubt have the same mocking sneer. “I - I want to go upstairs,” she whispered. “I hate it down here.”

Getting out of the dungeon and back into the main part of the castle was the best way she could think of starting her escape plan. If she was lucky, she might even have a bed or actual food. Things she had taken for granted before, things that would help grow strong enough that Etherion wasn’t going to tear her apart. Lucia watched her silently, form unmoving for long enough that she worried he’d see through her weak plea.

Instead, she heard him laugh again. “Say it nicely,” he said when he was done, stepping back towards her. The door was still open, light still hurting her eyes. Elie felt a sour taste filled her mouth as he got closer, tempted to forget it entirely. “Beg your master for the light, Elie.”

Elie felt tears prick her eyes. Lucia was doing whatever he could to break her spirit, it seemed. But she would be cracked so easily. “Please,” she whispered. “Please Lu - _Master_.”

She watched as a wide grin spread across his face. “Was that so hard?” he mocked. For a second, Elie considered spitting in his face, but then he turned away. “Lady Joker!” he suddenly snapped. In a second, a young girl with a mess of hair atop her head appeared in the room, knee bent in a practiced bow. “Bring our guest to Reina’s old suite.”

“Sir?”

Lucia ignored her and continued walking, pausing once to send a chilling smile over his shoulder for her. The woman, Lady Joker, waited until his footsteps were out of earshot before she rose, a ring of keys jingling on her hip. She worked silently, unbinding her ankles first and then her wrists, stepping back as Elie crumpled to the floor. She curled in on herself, tears falling shamelessly now.

It worked, she kept thinking. It really worked. What was a little humiliation in return for a shred of freedom?

A rough arm pulled her up, seemingly not concerned with how weak her body was without the chains keeping her upright. Lady Joker half dragged her through the dungeon and up the stairs, lips pressed into a firm line. “I suggest you forget all thoughts of escaping,” she said as they turned a corner. The hallways were lined with rugs of deep purple, creating a regal appearance despite the ominous feeling. “There will guards posted outside your door at all times, as well as around the perimeter. Any attempts made will be met swiftly and violently.”

Elie bit her lip, but forced herself to nod anyways. Armed guards would not stop Etherion, she told herself. When they finally stopped, it was outside a magnificent set of double doors, silver fused within the wood to make an intricate pattern. Lady Joker nodded to the set of guards already waiting for them and then pulled the key from her ring. One door was unlocked and opened, and the woman stepped aside to allow Elie to enter. She hobbled in, pausing just a few steps in to admire the ornate decorations.

Purples and silvers filled the whole room, the bed framed with thin snakes that looked much like Reina’s Dark Bring. “Reina must have really liked the color purple,” she mumbled to herself. The door had not been shut behind her, so Elie turned curiously, finding Lady Joker still standing in the entrance.

“Lord Lucia requires your magic for his plans. I suggest you do your part and regain some strength,” she said, one hand gesturing towards a table with a large dinner spread. “The less you resist his wishes, the happier your future will be.”

With those parting words, Lady Joker turned on her heel and disappeared, heavy doors shutting behind her. Elie felt her knees trembling, ready to collapse onto the massive bed behind her. But her stomach growled loudly, focus shifting to the dinner just a few feet away.

She knew that it would be better to go slow to avoid upsetting her stomach. But the second the first forkful of food hit her tongue, she began shoveling whatever was nearest into her mouth. Everything was delicious, cooked to perfection and flavored impeccably. Elie couldn’t get enough of it; she ate every last bite before collapsing on the bed on her back. For a few seconds, she remained there, eyes tracing a pattern in the ceiling above her.

It would do her no good to become complacent now. Lady Joker confirmed her fears that Lucia _needed_ her for something, which meant she would need to work extra hard to escape before those plans could come to fruition. Oh, but the bed was so soft. Her eyes dimmed shut for a minute, realizing that a bedroom suite would almost definitely come with a bathroom.

Escape plans could come tomorrow after she was clean and rested, Elie told herself. She’d feel better, which meant her mind would be more focused.

The bathroom was easy enough to find, tucked away through a small door in the corner of the room. It came complete with a claw-foot tub and a large shower, and Elie practically melted just at the sight. Her whole body felt disgusting, grimy and dusty and _stinky_. As she jumped into the shower first, Elie let her thoughts wander, remembering what Lucia had said - _I spent ten years in the darkness!_ It was easy to forget, that he had been imprisoned for most of his life.

She closed her eyes and lifted her face up into the water stream, trying to imagine it. She’d only been down in the dungeon for a week; he had suffered a whole decade of it. No wonder he was so cruel.

Elie enjoyed her shower for as long as the water stayed warm, thrilled to have been able to scrub the grime off her skin. Her previous set of pajama’s was discarded in a trash bin, replaced by a loose set she found in the dresser. Now that she was clean and fed, Elie crawled beneath the heavy duvet, sinking into the soft mattress. For a second, she could almost forget where she was - her eyes closed and she thought of Haru and Musica, of the various places they had stopped to sleep. She felt her heart ache a little, wondering how they were doing.

Better than her, hopefully. Her eyes cracked open again, stretching her arms out in front of her and finding only more of the bed. She had gotten used to the others being nearby, to knowing she could shake one of them awake if she was scared. But now there was no one to reach for, nothing to comfort away the nightmares waiting on the other side of the door. Elie sighed, grabbing a spare pillow from the pile of them behind her and clutching it tightly, knees curling up around it. It wasn’t much, and it certainly wasn’t Haru, but it was something. Tonight, she would rest as well as she was able. Tomorrow, she’d find a way out of here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! as always, feel free to find me on Tumblr @tanchimo, or Twitter @tanchiimo.


	3. Hapless Attempt

_All around her, the stone was cold to the touch, sharp corners pressing into her already bruised skin. The dark was everywhere, suffocating in its absolution, and Elie had long since given up trying to adjust to it. This darkness wasn_ _’t normal._

_Her voice had gone hoarse long ago, voice rubbed raw with her frantic screams for help, for her friends, for food. No one ever answered her, no one ever came. She was alone, dipped in inky darkness without a single shred of hope. Was this real? Or was it just a nightmare, her subconscious drawing forth the most terrifying thing she could imagine? Elie didn_ _’t know. She didn’t know where she was, why she was there._

_But someone was waiting for her._

_“H-Haru,” she gasped, tears burning her cheeks. She could do nothing, it seemed, but call for his name and pray that he could hear her somehow. As she tried to lift her head, something heavy shifted a little across her neck. It rested awkwardly against her collarbones, half an inch thick and half-choking her. As her head dropped back down, eyes staring blindly at the ground, she tried to think of something to get her through. Happier times. Anything to cut through the darkness which had swallowed her._

_Shackles dug into her ankles with every movement, reminding her again and again that even if she could find a way to see in this darkness, she could go nowhere. Chained to the wall by her ankles, blind, and too weak to pull herself back up, Elie wasn_ _’t sure if there could ever be a way out of this._

Elie suddenly jerked awake, staring at the messy pile of pillows that surrounded her. Her heart was hammering away in her chest, and she shakily lifted herself up into a sitting position. Nervously, she eyes trailed across the purple decorations around her, finding some solace in simply being able to _see_. What a terrible nightmare. Once she was certain that it was, in fact, a terrible thing borne of her own subconscious, Elie pulled her knees up to her chest and let her forehead rest against them.

She needed to get out of here. Before Lucia decided to make her nightmare into reality and shove her back into the dungeon. Elie shivered slightly as she kicked the duvet off her legs, staring down at the pajamas. They certainly weren’t the ones she had on at Star Vestige, but she couldn’t remember changing. After a second, however, the thought was pushed aside - she had been quite out of it last night. Now that she had eaten and had the chance to bathe and sleep comfortably, her thoughts were sharper than ever. It was time to plan her escape.

After a quick trip in the restroom and a hastily devoured apple, Elie began pacing the perimeter of the room. The windows were certainly large enough for her to fit through, but they opened to a dead drop down the side of the castle with little chance of climbing. Plus, she really didn’t want to risk trying to scale the walls and end up falling to a painful death against the rocks at the bottom. Despite that, Elie spent some time examining the windows just to be certain before ruling them out.

Under normal circumstances, perhaps she would not have been so thorough with her inspections, but she was acutely aware that there would be only one chance at escape here. If Lucia caught her, her nightmare would most certainly become reality once more, and that was a risk Elie was not so willing to take this time.

She continued her search around the room, moving furniture away from the walls and checking under the deep purple carpet beneath the bed. She knew that old castles were usually filled with all sorts of secret passages for the inhabitants to escape in emergencies, but it was beginning to look like Reina’s choice of bedroom was not part of one such suite. Elie could feel herself growing more desperate the longer she searched, checking areas she had most definitely already checked just to be _absolutely certain_ she hadn’t missed anything.

Perhaps two hours had passed when she finally slumped onto the ground, burying her face in her hands. Nothing. Of course Lucia would have checked to make sure she couldn’t so easily run away. Which meant, then, that bursting her way out with Etherion might be her only option.

Elie lifted her head and held her hands out, trying to see if she could bring forth even a small tendril of magic. She could feel its warmth just below the surface of her skin, could feel the sheer power of it as it pulsed through her body - but every time she was close to letting it through her fingertips, Sieg’s voice whispered in the back of her mind that it was too dangerous.

Sighing once, she let her hands fall back to her knees, head leaning back against the wall. Etherion was still too risky. If she acted with it too soon, Lucia would storm up here and seal it away, and then she’d have nothing. Nothing was just not an option.

_What would Haru do?_

Haru who never gave up, who tied his sword to his hand once so he could continue fighting. Haru would find a way, somehow. Now it was her turn to find a way out. Elie opened her eyes and rose to her feet once more, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. Haru wouldn’t give up, and so neither would she.

After one more sweep through the bedroom, she poked her head into the bathroom. There had to be an air duct somewhere in this room, she reasoned. Or a pipe, something! Elie moved through the luxurious bathroom carefully, checking behind every surface she could and opening cabinets just to be _certain_. Finally, after spending a morning with the ever-disheartening thought that there simply wasn’t a way out, Elie noticed a vent in the ceiling. She stood under it now, certain that she would fit through it, but not sure if she would be able to climb it.

It didn’t look like it went straight up, but she would still need to find enough furniture to stack in order to even reach the vent. Elie wasted no time in her search - the dresser, once emptied of Reina’s signature dresses, was pushed into the bathroom first, providing a steady base. Then an end table, a couple chairs. By the time the movable furniture was all examined, she had herself a somewhat unsteady tower leading to the vent. Pleased with herself, Elie carefully climbed up, feeling the whole tower wobble for a second before steadying. Once she was at the time, it was a matter of hitting the weak grate a few times with her knees and elbows before the screws popped loose enough for her to push it open.

Like she thought, it only went straight up for about two feet before it made a sharp turn to the left. With some finesse and more upper body strength than Elie knew she had, she was free.

The vent was small, hardly big enough for her to kneel in without smacking her head on the top of it, but Elie allowed herself a small victory punch in the air to celebrate. Air vents had to have an intake, which meant she would eventually find an exit. Somewhere.

Thankful that she still had no shoes on, Elie began crawling through the vent slowly, aware of every single ping she made. The vent was dark, but areas where it opened into other rooms within the castle provided just enough light that she was not at risk of potentially suffering through any sort of claustrophobia.

Most of the rooms she passed were empty, more bathrooms and bedrooms from what she could gather. Who built this castle and why was still very much a mystery, but the further Elie went through the vent, the less she cared. Now, the only thing that truly mattered was finding a way out. “This dumb castle is too big,” she muttered, leaning over to check another vent. This one was a large meeting room, but the chairs were empty. Groaning once, she shifted off her knees, back pressing against the metal behind her.

This was impossible without any sort of schematics. But finding schematics and _then_ climbing into the vents to escape seemed unlikely. And even if she wanted to, she didn’t remember the path back. Elie looked back the way she came, wondering just how deep the maze really went. Her knees would be purple with bruises by the time she made it out of here.

Below her, Elie heard a door suddenly slam open, footsteps echoing around her. She froze for a second and then carefully shifted away, heart pounding. Had they found her somehow? Voices filled the air around her, and she chanced a look down. People she didn’t recognize were all standing in the meeting room now, some dressed in fancy pressed suits and others wearing the familiar set of Demon Card armor. Elie frowned a little, but before she could consider what was happening, Lucia strolled into the room. He wasn’t wearing his armor, though the Dark Bring was still laying against his chest and a new sword was strapped to his back. Elie’s eyes widened and she quickly moved away from the opening again, one hand pressing against her mouth. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable taunt.

It never came.

“Lord Lucia.”

“Get it over with,” he snapped. Chairs scraped against the ground as people fumbled to sit down, but Elie didn’t dare look again. “What is it that is so important?”

His voice was harsher than usual, and Elie bit down on her lip to keep from making any noise. “W-well, Lord Lucia, we’ve received a report regarding the Rave Master,” someone else started to say.

“I’ve told you - I don’t care what Haru-fucking-Glory is doing anymore!” Lucia snapped. A thud and a groan filled the air, and she flinched slightly. So, he was just as cruel to those who worked for him. “I have Etherion. Nothing that cockroach does anymore can stop my plans.”

“Master.” Elie recognized the voice and dared to glance over. Lady Joker was standing near the doorway, kneeling once more. “One of my spies has reported that the Rave Master is teaming up with the Resistance forces in an effort to fight Hardner.”

For a second, the woman’s words didn’t seem to register completely. When they did, Elie felt her heart slowly sink in her chest - Haru wasn’t coming for her? She bit down on her bottom lip again, trying to understand what that meant. Why was he going to fight this Hardner person instead of coming for her? Maybe he had made a deal with this Resistance to help them in exchange for them helping him?

“Is that so?” Lucia said, voice cutting through her thoughts. He sounded contemplative more than anything now, as if genuinely intrigued by the turn of events. “It would prove problematic for us if he were to take Hardner’s Sinclaire. Very well. I suppose we ought to pay out large friend a visit.” She heard the door open and close again, and when she quickly glanced over, Lady Joker was no longer kneeling there.

Perhaps, somehow, Haru not coming right for her was for the best decision. If Lucia was going to be gone, it would make her escape all the easier. Elie breathed a soft sigh of relief, leaning back against the vent. It hurt that Haru was choosing his Rave duties over rescuing her, of course, but she understood. He must have a good reason for it, if nothing else.

Below her, chairs scraped against the ground again as others filed out. It was hard to imagine Lucia being stuck in meetings like this, but Demon Card _was_ an organization of sorts, so perhaps this was a regular occurrence for him. Once the room was clear, she would need to try and find her way back to Reina’s suite and play nice until Lucia left, however long that would take.

“Mother.”

Elie froze, Lucia’s voice cutting through her. He was still there?

_Hardner intends to betray you._

A chill went down her back, and Elie quickly pressed a hand against her mouth to keep from calling out. A voice rang in her ears, soft and menacing and everything she was certain she never wanted to hear again. But no one was there, apart from Lucia. Was that…

“Does he? All the more reason to join him,” Lucia chuckled. Unable to resist, Elie leaned closer to the opening, silently praying for another body to be in the room. It was just him, however, fingers stroking the purple Dark Bring against his chest.

_Bring the girl._

More chills went down her back, and she quickly snapped back away from the opening. That must be her, but why? Was he planning on just bringing her along to, what, taunt Haru? That seemed dangerous, considering the last time they had met, Haru won their fight. Lucia wasn’t that reckless, surely. No, whatever he was planning, Elie would have no part of it. She carefully shifted her legs, knees groaning in protest.

However, before she could begin scurrying back through the vents in her renewed search for freedom, Lucia laughed.

“Did you hear that, Elie? We’re going for a ride. Why don’t you come on out of there?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! :D


	4. Desperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: The psychological abuse tag is starting to shine through.

“Did you hear that, Elie? We’re going for a ride. Why don’t you come on out of there?”

Everything froze. Elie could have sworn that even her heart, once racing relentlessly, had come to a complete standstill at those words. Lucia knew she was up here. Lucia knew she had been eavesdropping. All of her plans were at risk now, and she still didn’t know the way out of the maze.

Below her, she could hear him laughing, could hear the thud of his boots against the ground as he no doubt approached. All at once, Elie felt the world come back into motion, her only thought now to move, and move _quickly_.

It no longer mattered if her knees or elbows banged against the sides and alerted the rest of the castle to the fact that someone was in the vents, Elie moved as quickly as she possibly could. More than once, her hand would slip and cause her elbow to crash against the floor, but she never stopped moving. There had to be an exit, there _had_ to be some sort of intake valve or opening to the outside world she could use.

“I applaud your tenacity,” she heard lingering in the air around her. Elie jerked her head around, half expecting Lucia to be in the vents behind her. However, there was no one. “I did not anticipate an escape attempt this soon into your release.”

A crack suddenly filled the air, noise echoing around her as she stared in horror at the ground. Just as she tried to move again, backwards or forwards, the vent came apart below her, sending her crashing into the room below her. Elie cried out in pain as her body hit the ground, stone and metal debris following along. Her arms weakly lifted to prevent any of the pieces falling on her face, but a hand grabbed at her elbow and yanked her up, not caring if she was unsteady. “Did you truly think that would work?” Lucia mocked, watching as she coughed. “In _my_ castle?”

“Sh-shut up!” Elie told him, trying to pull her arm free. Lucia tightened his grip, squeezing a pressure point as if to accentuate her helplessness. “Just let me go! Whatever you need Etherion for, I won’t use it!”

Lucia laughed again, the noise grating in her ears. Elie finally opened her eyes, glaring at him despite the tears collecting there. He looked strange without his armor on, less imposing but somehow even more intimidating. The heavy Dark Bring glimmered through the dust, reminding her that it had _spoken_ to him earlier. Did all Dark Bring do that? Was that why Go and Rosa had become corrupted over time?

“I’m not worried about that, Elie,” Lucia told her calmly. “I don’t need you to use Etherion. I just need to ensure the Rave Master _can_ _’t_.” Elie stared at him - how did he know so much about Haru and Rave? Her eyes flickered down again to the Dark Bring, wondering if it had somehow told him things that _they_ didn’t even know. But how could a Dark Bring know so much? “Don’t you see? The Rave Master is _using_ you for his own gain - he doesn’t care about you!”

“Yes he does!” Elie cried, trying once more to pull her arm free. This time, Lucia allowed her to do so, watching as she stumbled to the ground. “Haru’s my friend!”

Though she was free, it was obvious that Lucia wasn’t done with her, standing over her so that she had no hope of running. “Is that so?” he asked, lips quirking upwards into a smirk. “Then where is he? If he _cared_ so much, why hasn’t he stormed my castle in search of you?” Elie glared a little harder, but she didn’t have an answer to that. “You are an accessory to the Rave Master, nothing more. And once he has gotten from Etherion what he needs, he’ll leave you behind just like he did with the mermaid girl.”

“Shut up!”

Lucia laughed, stepping closer even as Elie tried to scramble backwards. “But me? I _know_ you. I know your power, what it can do. I have no interest in Etherion beyond keeping it out of Haru Glory’s wretched hands. I can keep you safe, Elie. Isn’t that what you want?”

His voice had dropped down to something soft, like he was trying to be comforting. But as Elie looked up at him, tears hot on her cheeks, all she could see was the Dark Bring still against his chest. She remembered the way he had attacked them, the ruthlessness in which he had killed the Sigma 77 at Symphonia, the way he had kissed her and then laughed when she cried.

“All I want is to see my friends again!” Elie told him, refusing to fall for his cruel tricks. As she attempted to climb to her feet, Lucia reared his foot back and kicked her back down, boot pressing painfully against her leg to hold her in place. She wanted to keep fighting, to prove to him - and, well, herself - that she was not just the damsel in distress, that she could fight her way out of here just like the others. But Lucia had her in such a grip that moving was too painful, his wicked laugh still ringing away in her ears.

“I’m afraid I can’t let that happen,” he told her. “You’ll understand in time, Elie. Until then, why don’t you just be a good girl and _do as your told_?!” He added another kick to her arm as he spoke, driving her a little further into the royal purple carpet. She shifted a little in an effort to test the waters, but Lucia pressed his boot down a little harder, grinding his heel into her exposed thigh. “Perhaps you’d like another stint in my dungeon, then?”

Tears were pooling on the ground below her, but Elie didn’t dare give him the satisfaction this time. She had begged him once; he would get nothing else from her.

Thankfully, before he could simply make the decision for her, a soft voice interrupted them. “S-sir?” Lucia seemed to pause above her, but his foot was still heavy on her leg. “Sir, Lady Joker asked me to - to inform you that we have received a report from Iulius regarding the Rave Master.” Elie felt her heart flutter just at the mention; was Haru finally coming for her after all?

A moment of silence passed before Lucia laughed again. “What impeccable timing,” he muttered. His foot finally moved off her leg, but a hand swiftly appeared on her elbow to hoist her back to her feet. “You’d like to see your friends again? Then let’s see them together.” Elie struggled to keep up with him as he strode down the halls, leg throbbing from where he had been stepping on her and knees still aching from climbing around the vents. A hand brushed against her side once, wondering vaguely why she remembered it being in pain not long ago - there was nothing now.

Lucia dragged her through the castle before making a sharp turn into an unguarded room, tossing Elie onto the ground as he continued towards a large monitor. She managed to look up at it, watching a purple line flicker across the image; Iulius, standing before them in what appeared to be a hotel room. Behind him, she could make out a few other figures, but the image was unsteady.

“Iulius,” Lucia said. He had a wicked grin on his face, glancing down once at Elie as she tried to move away from him. Before she got too far, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer, not caring as she banged her head against the table. “I hear you have word of the Rave Master?”

“I do!” Iulius chirped happily, sweeping his bangs out of his eyes. “He and his annoying little friends attacked me while I was vacationing.” Elie felt her world shift a little, staring up at the screen with wide, tearstained eyes. Lucia laughed, leaning forward a little bit like an excited kid. “I thought you would be pleased to see the results of his folly.”

A hand reached down and roughly yanked Elie up by her hair. Iulius’ eyes fell on her and widened slightly before a malicious grin crossed his handsome features. More purple hair was brushed out of his eyes, and then he turned around and barked something she couldn’t quite hear. Elie watched as more figures shimmered in and out of the frame, the whole screen pulsating. Tears still felt heavy on her cheeks, but she couldn’t seem to make them stop with Lucia gripping her so tightly. She didn’t dare look away, certain she’d find Haru and the others standing tall and victorious, that they were ready for round two - they were _always_ ready for round two. Iulius was nothing compared to Doryu or Ogre or even Lucia. They had to be alright.

The camera panned a little bit away, and Elie felt every ounce of hope she had mustered up today evaporate before her eyes.

“Haru!” she screamed, ignoring Lucia’s tight grip to try and fight to get closer. He lay on the floor, red-stained icicles piercing through his body at all the wrong angles while Musica lay not far away in a similar pose. Lucia’s laughter was loud in her ears, the whole room spinning like some sort of terrible purple kaleidoscope around her. “Haru!” But no amount of fighting could help her, no frustration or desperate bid for freedom would do her any good when she was, quite literally, stuck in Lucia’s grasp and Haru was who-knew-where.

Where was Etherion when she needed it? Why had it not come bursting forth when her emotional state became too frayed? Elie continued screaming, clenching her eyes shut against the tirade of purple flashes, trying to draw it forth, to do _something_ to get herself out of this.

But nothing came. Haru was near death, and she couldn’t do anything.

Lucia’s laughter was fading from her ears now, and Elie welcomed the silence even as she fell deeper and deeper into the warm purple haze, not sure she could fight it anymore.

_“Perhaps that was too much, Sir.”_

_“Oh, I doubt that.”_

Voices rang in her head, disconnected and soft enough that she was almost certain she was imagining them. Warmth had been replaced by the cold again, all sharp corners against hard ground. Elie tried to lift her head, but she felt so heavy, so terribly heavy. Something pressed uncomfortably against her collar bones again, dull and smooth, weighing her body down. Where once the world had been shades of purple, it was now empty - no colors, no screens, no dying Haru. Those existed now only in her thoughts, in a weak thread of memories that Elie wasn’t sure was worth holding onto.

Haru couldn’t be dead. There was no way.

_“On the contrary, I think this is working rather well.”_

Something brushed against her cheek, and though something rational told Elie she should move away, she felt herself lean into the touch. A soft touch was so foreign now, and she couldn’t help but welcome it when they came.

_“I’m taking her, piece by piece.”_

It was the last thing she heard before the touch was gone, words replaced by a heavy set of footsteps and a slammed door. Elie counted thirty seconds before accepting that they were gone, tears burning her cold skin as they fell once more.

Nothing was making sense, and it seemed like the more she tried to make sense of it anyways, the worse her head hurt. Words and images didn’t match up, and the more she tried to line the pieces up, the more _purple_ leaked into everything. It fell across her vision like a coat of paint, tainting things that it had no business touching until she wasn’t sure anymore what was even _meant_ to be purple.

Now she was alone. Alone with nothing to piece together, no shred of hope to cling to -

Except the purple haze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	5. Fleeting Moments

In the dark, nothing really made sense.

The world was static, and yet constantly changing. Shifting and warping around her until Elie wasn’t even sure which way was up. Most days, it was an endless expanse punctuated only briefly with cold stones and a rumble of hunger. But other times, she found herself banging against a wall or a door, voice weak and raspy as she tried to scream for freedom. Tears were hot against her cheeks until they weren’t, wrists and ankles numb and raw all at once. Elie saw flashes of her friends, saw the blood on the ice and wondered to herself how it could ever be possible they might have survived somehow. She had no idea how much time had even passed. It was if time had ceased to mean anything at all down in her little cell.

She didn’t even know when exactly she was sleeping and when she was awake. Dreams and reality had merged - sometimes she could see her friends before her as they laughed, other times she saw them dying. Once or twice, she could even smell their familiar road-weary soaps. And then it would fade away in a purple sheen until only cruel laughter rang in her ears.

Elie clung to the times where there was nothing. Nothing, she had come to decide, was better than the alternative. She guessed that those were her waking moments, the scarce peace her growing delirium would give her.

It was during one of those fleeting moments that it happened.

Soft at first, but the more Elie tried to ignore it, the louder it became - sniffling. She weakly lifted her head up, entire body feeling weighed down, and tried to listen. Sniffling, certainly, followed by unmistakable sound of crying. Curious, she felt a hand reach up to pat at her cheeks, surprised to find them dry and cold.

Was there someone else down here? Elie shuffled a little against the restraints, shackles clanging against the stone briefly. The crying stopped, and she froze in place, worried she had somehow scared it off. “H-hello?” she tried, not sure if anyone could even hear her through the walls. There hadn’t been any visitors since Lucia tossed her inside, nor any indication that someone else had joined her in the cells - yet she had heard someone crying.

“Why did this happen?”

It was so quiet, Elie almost missed it. Something fragile, something delicate like a flower struggling to bloom. Tears clouded her eyes for a second before she shifted again, jerking the chains a little louder this time in the hopes of letting her new companion know she was here. “Who’s there?” she tried, reaching out to press her fingers against the wall. Where was the voice? All that met her were more sniffles. Elie bit on her lip, ignoring the way it split apart just from the contact. “Please.”

“I miss my mama.”

If she had a heart left to break, it would have shattered. A child? Lucia had imprisoned a _child_ down here? Small flickers of anger cracked in her stomach at the thought, and she reached for the wall once more. She wanted to reach through the stone and find them, to comfort them despite her own living hell. “Can you hear me?” Elie croaked, tears building in her eyes. They were so far away, trapped in a similar darkness to her own - what purpose could Lucia have in taking them? As sick and terrible as it was, she knew why he had snatched _her_ away, but a child?

They didn’t answer, and Elie let her head fall again. The walls must be too thick to carry her weak voice through. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, feeling tears burn familiar paths down her cheeks. She would have no words of reassurance for them even if they could hear her, hope weak from her time in the darkness. So instead, she cried with them.

Elie cried for the child, lost in the darkness far too young. She cried for herself, swallowed alive by it. For Haru, for Musica, for everyone they might not be able to save from Lucia’s wrath. She cried as she had not since her arrival, deep shaking sobs that betrayed the soreness of her lungs.

When it finally subsided, she felt exhausted. Her body slumped a little in her restraints, not bothering to try and find any sort of comfortable position any longer.

She did not know how long Lucia had kept her down here, nor did she know when she’d be allowed out again - or if he would ever let her see the light again. Etherion was too out of reach, her friends might be dead, and the longer she remained bathed in inky darkness and purple hazes, the more difficult it was becoming to keep the small embers of hope alive.

Time continued on like this. Elie would hear the child crying and she would call to them in the hopes of soothing their misery, but she never seemed to reach them. She cried with him some days, begging the darkness to relinquish them in her place. The longer it went on, the less likely it seemed to ever end.

Until she heard footsteps approaching.

Elie lifted her head weakly, eyes staring out into the void around her. Heavy boots lingered in the air, and though she was quite certain it was Lucia come down to taunt her again, she could not quite hold back the hope that her time in the darkness would be over soon. She waited and listened, heart leaping up into her chest when they came to a halt. There was a loud _clank_ as metal turned, and then a whoosh of air as the door was thrown open. For the first time, the darkness began to melt away, leaving only dull grays and a tall silhouette.

“Hello, Etherion girl. I’ve come to rescue you.”

For a second, Elie didn’t recognize the voice. She squinted up at the figure, eyes still adjusting to something beyond total darkness. She watched as the man brushed a hand across his forehead - “Iulius?” Questions bubbling up in her chest, all surrounded by a very strong but very uncertain feeling that she could not trust him. Iulius had done something. Iulius, Elie reasoned, was one of Lucia’s soldiers.

She watched as he came closer, shrinking back a little bit. “I mean you no harm, really,” Iulius promised, holding his hands up. Keeping his movements slow, he reached into his coat’s inner breast pocket and pulled out a familiar silver necklace. “The Rave Master gave me this to give to you.” He held it out for her, careful to keep his distance a little. After a second, Elie reached forward to see what it was, fingers brushing against cool silver. His necklace, she realized. Haru gave him his necklace. Fingers trembling, she accepted the gift from him, tears pooling in her eyes.

Haru was alive. Haru had come for her.

“I’m certain you have questions, but we don’t have much time,” Iulius said softly. Elie looked away from the necklace again to watch as he pulled a key out of his pocket. He waited until she caught on and proffered her arm before releasing her. He moved next to her ankles, and then returned to where he was in front of her, glancing down to her neck. “That will have to wait, I’m afraid. Your friend, the Silverclaimer, should be able to remove it.” Elie had no idea what he was talking about, fingers carefully slipping the necklace over her head. Haru wouldn’t mind if she wore it for a little bit, surely. Besides, it gave her a modicum strength to have him so close to her heart now.

Something was wrong. She didn’t know what, but as Iulius offered her a hand so she could climb to her feet, Elie was _certain_ that something was off.

Iulius kept a steady hold of her as they walked, each step towards freedom increasing the feeling of _wrongness_ in the air. But she couldn’t place it, head feeling like she had just woken up from a terribly long sleep. The world was heavy and terrible and even out of the darkness, Elie wasn’t sure which way was up.

The castle was quiet when they emerged from the prison. Elie would have expected more guards near the entrance, but Iulius didn’t give her much time to consider it. Instead, with a firm arm supporting her elbow, he moved her down the hallway. Her legs didn’t want to move as quickly as he did, however, meaning her feet were half-dragging across the plush red carpets as they went. “Shuda and the others are waiting nearby,” Iulius said softly. “Assuming this goes well, we might get you out of here before Lucia even notices.”

Elie frowned. Why was Iulius working with Shuda? Wasn’t Shuda his enemy now? Wasn’t _Haru_ his enemy?

Just as he was tugging her around a corner, she slipped her wrist out of his. Iulius paused mid step, turning back to her with a frown. “Elie, what are you doing?” he asked softly, reaching for her again. Before he could, she quickly pulled back.

It didn’t make sense. Why was Iulius helping her when he had tried to kill her a few months ago? Brown eyes narrowed as she looked him over, heart racing in her chest. It was like a memory was trying to float back to the surface, straining against the haze that had settled over her.

“You,” she whispered, taking another step. His handsome face screwed up in confusion before he glanced nervously over his shoulder. “You’re lying.”

“Elie, I know we’ve had our differences, but you need to trust me! I’ve -”

“No!” Elie cried, jerking away as he reached for her again. The memory surfaced, piercing through the haze with the same force the icicles had pierced through her friends. “I saw what - what you did to - to H-Haru.” She took another shaky step back, tears burning in her eyes and clouding her vision. “I won’t play this dumb game anymore!”

And with that, she took off back down the hall. It didn’t matter where she went, since this wasn’t real. The empty corridor and the red carpet were proof enough of that, even if she hadn’t remembered Iulius attacking her friends. Elie ran without care as to where she was going, knowing eventually the strange nightmare would end and she would find herself once more chained in the dungeon with only the persistent noise of a child crying to anchor her back in reality.

When she finally forced herself to a stop and looked around, Elie realized she had carried herself into some sort of great hallway. The space was wider here, with tall windows and towering pillars. Wherever it was, the place was huge - big enough for an entire army no doubt. Breathless and feeling on the verge of collapse, she stopped to lean against the wall, trembling hand clutching at her chest. The nightmares didn’t normally last this long. Once she had figured out the trick, they usually took a sharp turn for the worse before she was momentarily freed back into consciousness.

Nothing of the sort was happening this time. Instead, the world felt…clearer.

And then one of the walls exploded.

Though it had happened on the other side of the massive room, Elie was blown back from the force of it, arms failing entirely to shield herself from debris as it rained down. Amid the echoing noise, she could make out the sound of an engine churning. Coughing, and with her ears ringing quite violently, she looked up, watching the dust as it gracefully fell back to the ground.

An airship hovered across the room; massive cannon still aimed at the castle. For a second, there was nothing but the noise of the engine, but then a loud siren screeched through the air. Whatever was happening, Lucia was sure to be aware of it now.

“Elie!”

Her head jerked back up, trying to see through the dust and the rubble. But she couldn’t make anything out, wasn’t quite sure what she was even seeing. A rescue ship? Then, had Iulius been…real? Was this _real_? Hope bloomed in her chest, and she shakily climbed back onto her feet, gripping the wall for support. Guards would be on their way, they’d take her back into the darkness if she didn’t hurry - still trembling from head to foot, Elie began to move. Towards the airship, towards anything that might keep her out of the dark for a little while longer.

“Elie!” This time, it came from behind her. She turned, eyes wide as she saw Iulius fighting off a number of Demon Card guards. She paused, nearly tripping as she tried to turn back for him. “Go! I’ll hold them off for you!”

She hesitated, guilt seeping through the hope that she had not trusted him to begin with. But Iulius was a Demon Card general, one of the best. His ability to freeze people would be just what she needed to get to the airship. Biting her lip, Elie turned back and continued hobbling towards her freedom.

Behind her, she could make out the noises of some sort of battle, but she didn’t dare turn back this time. Adrenaline was all that moved her forward, each step more laborious than the last, but it was close, she could make out the shape of the ship and silhouettes of people waiting for her. It was the dream-come-true she had given up on entirely.

“Elie!”

The voice was like music to her ears, spurring her on a little faster. There wasn’t much time, and she only had a little bit more. An arm reached for her through the haze, other hand wrapped tightly around a railing to anchor him to the ship. “Haru,” Elie gasped, nearly stumbling just from the force of her happiness. He was here, he had come for her after all. She could see his face now, serious and desperate as he strained to get closer.

“We don’t have much time!”

“Haru, we need to go!”

“Shut up!” Haru snapped behind him. “Elie, take my hand!”

She reached out, certain that no matter how weak she felt, he would carry her. For a second, it seemed to finally be over, their hands were only an inch apart -

_“Please don’t leave me alone.”_

The voice was quiet, but crystal clear. Elie felt herself stumble, remembering too late the child locked down in the dungeon. She couldn’t them behind. She turned slightly to look behind her, hoping to grab their hand as well and bring them both to freedom.

Fingers brushed against something, and she heard a roaring, “No!” as her body collapsed to the ground. Elie laid there for a second, disoriented and not entirely certain what had happened until she felt a heavy boot press against her back. “Lucia!” The engine churned again, and she looked up just in time to watch Haru being pulled away. “No! I’m not leaving her!” he was screaming, fighting against the arms of whoever was holding him back. “Get off of her! Elie!”

But whoever was piloting the airship was taking him further away, gunfire filling the air around them like firecrackers as Demon Card moved to defend. And Elie could only watch as her one chance of freedom disappeared.

For the sake of the child, she tried to tell herself. The last thing she heard was Lucia scoffing above her before something heavy slammed into the side of her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! sorry for the slight-ish delay in updates, had some personal things happen that kept me away from writing. hopefully this chapter makes up for it!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading! Please feel free to find me on tumblr @tanchimo, or twitter @tanchiimo.


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